Crisis looms in Ondo as APC insists on indirect primary

Idealposts

Unprecedented crisis is about to hit the All Progressives Congress, APC, as the party has finally disclosed it is going ahead to conduct indirect governorship primary electon in Ondo State.

Chairman of APC Primary Election Committee, Governor Yahaya Bello dropped the bombshell Friday while addressing journalists at APC National Secretariat after its committee was inaugurated.

The Kogi State governor insisted that the power to determine the mode of primary election has been vested in the state executive committee by the previous National Working Committee, NWC, and ratified by the National Executive Committee, NEC of the party.

Bello said, “This has been settled. The Ondo Primary election would be conducted via indirect mode. This was the option choosen by the Ondo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress APC and ratified by the National Executive Committee NEC of our great party in the last meeting. So, we are going for indirect primary.”

Recall that Nigerian Pilot had earlier reported that ten out of the twelve governorship aspirants in the state for July 20 governorship primary had threatened to boycott the exercise should the Caretaker/Caretaker/Extra-Ordinary National Convention Planning Committee (CEONCPC) insist on indirect mode of primary for the party’s primary in the state.

Unconfirmed report also indicated that eleven out of the twelve aspirants had concluded plan to defect to opposition parties and even make their defection speech in front of the national secretariat of APC.

While answering question on the threat issued by ten out of the twelve aspirants to boycott the election should the party go ahead with its plan on indirect primary, Bello said though the executive Governor of Niger State, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello is in Ondo right now, mediating, to ensure that there is peaceful coexistence and agreement on this mode of primary among the aspirants, it is not in the purview of contestants to determine or dictate the mode of election or rules of engagement to the party.

Bello boasted that regardless of the mode of the primary, the party was sure to win the governorship election in Ondo.

“If free, fair and credible primary is conducted, every member of the party, those who contested and those who are not contesting including members and sympathisers of the party would support it to victory.

“I am very confident that we are going to win the general election by the grace of God. The task ahead of us is to go and conduct free and fair primary that every aspirant will be happy with and then join hands together for us to be victorious at the end of the day,” Bello averred.